Standing ePanel Guidelines and FAQs
If you are participating virtually, you can view the virtual conference instructions here. View Session Times, Formats and Role Descriptions here.
Standing ePanels will be held Thursday through Saturday in the 4th Floor Exhibit Hall of the Palmer House. Each Standing ePanel session is assigned to one of five alcoves in the Exhibit Hall (Alcoves A through E). You will be able to view the assigned alcove for your session in the online conference program later in March, and in the printed program at the conference.
Up to eight papers are included in a Standing ePanel session, which also includes a chair and one or more discussants. The chair introduces the panel, the authors, and the discussants, manages the time for each presentation, and ensures that the discussion is polite and productive. The author presents an abbreviated version (6-8 minutes) of their research paper in a PowerPoint or .pdf poster format on large shared monitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
I signed up to present a poster! What am I going to do?
If you had submitted a proposal to present in a poster session and have already created the hardcopy poster, we want to be sure that you are still able to use the poster. We will have poster display boards on-site, if you would still like to showcase the hardcopy version. Hardcopy posters are not required. Typical Standing ePanels are presented in a digital format and are displayed on monitors during the sessions. Standing ePanel presenters are encouraged to bring their presentation (in a PowerPoint or PDF format) on a removable USB drive for digital presentation. Monitors will be set for horizontal presentation. Please see presentation design tips below for assistance on creating your Standing ePanel presentation.
What date/time is my Standing ePanel session?
You can find the schedule for your Standing ePanel session in the online conference program (instructions found here). The online program is searchable by participant name, session time, and session format.
How do I find out where I’m presenting?
The Standing ePanels will take place in the 4th Floor Exhibit Hall in one of five alcoves (Alcoves A through E). The conference program will tell you exactly where the alcoves are located, and which alcove your session is assigned to. You will be able to view the assigned alcove for your session in the online conference program later in March, and in the printed program at the conference.
If I am presenting on a Standing ePanel, do I also have to upload my research paper to the MPSA online conference program?
Yes. Uploading your research to the online conference program allows fellow attendees and your discussant to review your research in advance of your presentation. Instructions for uploading your research can be found here. In addition, you might also consider sending it to those in your session via email as a courtesy. To view email addresses, click on a participant in the online program (you must be logged in to view email addresses).
How long should my presentation be?
Each session is 90 minutes long and there will be a number of papers presented on each panel. Plan for your presentation to be between 6 and 8 minutes. After you present your research, please remain in the alcove for the entire session as there will be Q&A after all presentations are complete. The alcove has a seating area for presenters to sit while they are not presenting.
What do I bring to the conference?
Please bring your PowerPoint (or poster .pdf file) to the conference on a removable USB flash drive. Your flash drive should be formatted for a Windows-based PC, not iOS.
What time should I arrive for my presentation?
Arrive in the Alcove are of the Exhibit Hall at least 15 minutes before your presentation. There will be a presenter wait area where you can wait until it’s your time to present.
Presentation Design Tips
- Keep it simple.
- Limit bullets and text.
- Limit transitions and builds (animation).
- Use high-quality graphics.
- Avoid linking to external resources that require an internet connection.
- Have a visual theme.
- Use appropriate charts and graphs.
- Use color well (A dark font on a light background is easy to read at a distance).
- Practice your timing so you stay within your time limit.
- Limit your PowerPoint to 10 slides or fewer.
- Your presentation should use a minimum of 14-point font size. Ideally, 22- to 24-point font would be legible from a distance.
- If you created your digital presentation in a format other than PowerPoint (i.e., Google Slides, Prezi, etc.) please convert your presentation to PowerPoint. The transition time between each presenter is short and you won’t have time to make sure your presentation loads on the screen properly. PowerPoint is a standard format that will load easily and clearly on the presentation screen.